MV Ortelius

MV Ortelius cruise ship is an ice-strengthened polar expedition vessel. It is part of the Oceanwide Expeditions fleet - together with Plancius, Hondius, and the sailing ships Noorderlicht and Rembrandt van Rijn.

The vessel was launched in 1989 under the name "Marina Svetaeva". Initially, it served as a special purpose ship for the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Shipboard facilities

Like all the other fleetmates, Ortelius is equipped with rigid-hulled zodiacs (inflatable boats) used for landings (ship-to-shore passenger transportation) in remote areas. Additionally, Ortelius has a helipad and can carry 2 helicopters onboard.

The Ortelius ship operated in the Russian Far East as a cargo supply and passenger vessel, as well as a supply and accommodation ship to oil fields located in the Russian Arctic (northern Pacific Ocean) territories. As of December 2007, the ship was chartered by the Sydney-based company Aurora Expeditions and operated as "cruise ship" in the Antarctica and Arctic regions. In 2011, the ship was acquired by the based in Vlissingen (Netherlands) Dutch company Oceanwide Expeditions. It was then renamed Ortelius.

On January 16, 2014, mv Ortelius had a scheduled 9-night Antarctic Peninsula cruise. All passengers were onboard, but the ship's anchor system broke down and the itinerary was cancelled. After the technical issue was solved, Ortelius continued resumed its Antarctic cruise program. A highlight of the 2014 season was the successful Snow Hill Island expedition where passengers were transported by helicopter to the island's emperor penguins colony.